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THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 






THE 
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

ITS ORIGIN AND GROWTH 

BY 

J. H. BENTON, LL.D. 



'AS THE LIGHT OF THE SUN 
IS TO THE EYE OF THE BODY 
SO IS PRAIER TO THE SOUL' 



BOSTON 

PRIVATELY PRINTED 
1910 



COPYRIGHT, 19 10, BY J. H. BENTON 



^X^ 6 

^10 



D. B. UPDIKE, THE MERRYMOUNT PRESS, BOSTON 



(£CI.A268251 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

THE gradual collection of Books of Common 
Prayerand other books related thereto has been 
one of the avocations of a busy professional life. I am 
sometimes asked : " But why collect Prayer-Books ? ' ' 
This sketch is my answer to that question. 

The English Book of Common Prayer is one of 
the most interesting and instructive subjects of de- 
votional and historical study. It is the first book, com- 
prising all the offices of the Church and also forms 
of private devotion, which was established as a com- 
plete liturgy by the a6l of the state. All previous 
forms of worship had been promulgated by ecclesi- 
astical authority alone, and had no binding force in 
the law of the state; but this book was enafted as 
the only legal form of public worship by a Parlia- 
ment of the Commons and Lords Spiritual and Tem- 
poral and the Crown. Although it was first prepared 
by the clergy, it was necessarily so framed as to stand 
the test of legislative debate and meet the approval 
of the people by their representatives in Parliament; 
and the legal validity of its use rests solely upon the 
authority of the aft of Parliament. It was also the first 
complete book of devotions for the clergy and the 
worshippers in the language of the people, so that 
it might "be understanded by the people. " It was a 
compromise between conflicting opinions as to re- 
ligious doCtrine and as to forms of worship. This was 
its strength ; for this made it a liturgy established by 
the consent and authority of the people, for the use 
of the people, in the common language of the people. 

[iii] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

It has been twice proscribed by law, all copies of it 
ordered to be destroyed, and its use in public or 
private devotions made a crime. But it has, with few 
substantial alterations, remained unchanged in its 
original form for three hundred and fifty years. 

The a6l of Parliament establishing the Book of 
Common Prayer was passed January 21 , 1549. The 
book was at once printed, and its use began in the 
following June. The a6l was entitled " An Aft for 
Uniformity of Service and Administration of the Sa^ 
craments throughout the Realm/' It recited the di- 
versity of forms of worship then existing. It stated 
that a book entitled "The Book of Common Prayer, 
and Administration of the Sacraments, and other rites 
and ceremonies of the Church, after the Use of the 
Church of England,"had been prepared by the Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury and certain of the most learned 
and discreet bishops, and other learned men of the 
realm, and declared that all the ministers in the 
King's dominions should "after the Feast of Pente- 
cost next coming QJune 9, 1549], be bounden to say 
and use the Mattens, Evensong, Celebration of the 
Lord's Supper, commonly called the Mass, and ad- 
ministration of each of the Sacraments, and all their 
common and open Prayer in such order and form as 
is mentioned in the same book, and none other or 
otherwise." 

A great priest of the Church has said of it: "As 
the earth's shadow has kept sweeping slowly round 
the globe, under the two advancing lines of twilight 
and dawn, wherever the English tongue is spoken, 
the daily sacrifice of our morning and evening prayer 

[ ™ ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

has ' bowed down successive crowds of worshippers 
upon their knees;' so that, perhaps, there has not 
been an hour of day or night, since that month, 
in the second year of Edward's reign, when, from 
some high temple, or lowly chapel, or family group, 
or chamber of sickness, or dying bed, or closet 
whose door was shut, these immortal confessions 
and supplications and praises have not been ascend- 
ing!" 

The history of the Book of Common Prayer has 
been the study of the most acute and vigorous minds, 
not only of ecclesiastics, but of lawyers, statesmen 
and scholars. A body of literature has been created 
as to its sources, meaning and purposes which for 
learning, reasoning and style is unsurpassed. Those 
who know it best love it most, and the very earnest- 
ness of their discussions as to its origin and meaning 
attests their devotion to it. It has profoundly influ- 
enced not only the moral, but also the intellectual 
and political life of England and of the world. The 
arbitrary reforms and the vacillating but effective 
rule of Henry VIII ; the weak government and wide- 
spread insurrections of the reign of Edward VI ; 
the cruel persecutions under Mary and the persis- 
tent oppression of those who adhered to the Roman 
faith under Elizabeth; the childish and ineffective 
rule of James I ; the civil wars in the time of Charles I, 
his execution and the able but arbitrary rule of Crom- 
well; the riotous reign of the dissolute Charles II, 
and all the subsequent political history of England 
are a part of the story of the Book of Common 
Prayer. It has affefted English and Continental di- 

[v] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

plomacy and statesmanship, and it is not too much 
to say that its existence and use have caused wars 
to be waged and colonies to be established beyond 
the seas. It has not only gone where the English 
language has gone, but it has been translated into 
nearly all the written languages of the world. Its 
history is a part of the warp and woof of the history 
of the English people and nation which no one can 
fully understand who does not know its story. 

Of course, such a book was not an accident or a 
new creation. It was an adaptation of rites, of cere- 
monies and of forms of devotion which had their 
origin in the earliest times, and came down gradu- 
ally modified by use in different parts of the Chris- 
tian world for more than fifteen centuries. There was 
always in England an independent Church, called, 
in distinction from the Church of Rome, in the sta- 
tutes, records and rolls of Parliament, the "Church 
of England"or " Holy Church of England." The en- 
tire separation of that Church from the Roman See 
by the A61 of Supremacy in 1534, which made the 
King the "only Supreme Head in earth of the Church 
of England," necessarily resulted in a separate form 
of liturgical worship in England. Immediately there- 
after the Bible was ordered by the King to be set up 
for convenient use in every church, and all curates 
and heads of congregations were required to read 
the Epistle and Gospel of every holy-day out of 
the English Bible, plainly and distinctly. This was 
probably to be done after the Latin version had been 
read, as was the custom at that time in Germany, 
and is said to have been the custom in the primitive 

[vi] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

Church, when in Rome the Gospel and Epistle were 
read aloud both in Greek and in Latin. 

On February 21, 1543, Cranmer, Archbishop of 
Canterbury, informed the Convocation that it was 
the wish of his majesty that all service-books in the 
Church of England should be "newly examined, 
corrected, reformed, and castigated, from all man- 
ner of mention of the Bishop of Rome's name, from 
all apocryphas, feigned legends, superstitions, ora- 
tions, collects, versicles, and responses; that the 
names and memories of all saints which be not men- 
tioned in the Scripture or authentic doctors should 
be abolished, and put out of the same books and 
calendars, and that the service should be made out 
of the Scripture and other authentic doctors." 

In 1 544 the King directed Cranmer to prepare a 
general supplication "in our native English tongue/' 
to be "continually from henceforth said and sung in 
all churches of our realm with such reverence and 
devotion as appertained!," etc. Upon this instruction 
Cranmer prepared the first Litany in English which 
was put forth by order of the King. This was the first 
authoritative act introducing the English tongue into 
the public services of the Church. This Litany, which 
was included in the King's Primer of 1545, left out 
the petitions to various saints, all mentioned by name, 
which were in the Latin service-books, but retained 
clauses calling for the prayers of the Blessed Virgin, 
of the angels, and of the patriarchs, prophets and 
apostles. There remained,itwillbe seen, but little, ex- 
cept to frame the Eucharistic Office, in order to have 
complete materials for the compilation of a Book of 

[ vii] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

Common Prayer. This Office was supplied by the 
" Order of the Communion," which was prepared and 
passed Convocation* and received the civil san6lion 
of Parliament requiring its use March 8, 1548. 

The origin and establishment of the first Book of 
Common Prayer,and the manner in which it has been 
from time to time revised, are now to be stated and 
explained in as simple and concise a manner as is 
practicable. 

11 

Christianity arose in the East. Its earliest forms of 
worship are Oriental, and though their intellectual 
purpose may be said to be Greek, and their ad- 
ministrative development Roman, Oriental influences 
gave them a colour and a beauty which have in no 
small degree contributed to their permanent influ- 
ence upon the minds of men. The origin of all the 
liturgies of the Christian Church is uncertain, tradi- 
tional and obscured by the mists of a profound an- 
tiquity. But they may perhaps be divided into four 
principal or primary groups, named according to 
their supposed sources, as follows: The Liturgy of 
St. James, in Syria and Jerusalem, sometimes called 
the Clementine Liturgy; the Liturgy of St. Mark, 
in Egypt, Alexandria and Abyssinia, including the 
Greek, Coptic and Ethiopic forms; the Liturgy of 
St. Peter, or the Roman Liturgy, supposed to be the 

# The term "Convocation" as here used is an assembly of bishops and 
clergy summoned by command of the Crown to a£l only in such civil 
matters as the Crown directs in its summons, but with no power to 
change the law of the land. The directions to Convocation are called 
"Letters of business." 

[ viii 1 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

form of worship of the first Christians at Rome, 
although as they were Greek their Liturgy was 
doubtless in that tongue, and was perhaps derived 
from the primitive Liturgy of St. James;* and lastly, 
the Liturgy of St. John, in Spain, France and north- 
ern Italy, sometimes called the Ephesine Liturgy, 
from Ephesus, as the residence of St. John. This last 
group included the Mozarabic, or national Liturgy 
of Spain, until the close of the eleventh century, 
when it was superseded by the Roman Liturgy; 
the Gallican or ancient Liturgy of France until the 
close of the ninth century, when it was also super- 
seded by the Roman Liturgy; the Liturgy of Milan, 
sometimes called the Ambrosian Liturgy, and which 
is, perhaps, but a branch of the Roman Liturgy ; and 
finally, the Celtic Liturgy, which was in use in the 
British Islands before the Anglo-Saxon Conquest, 
and in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall for 
varying periods of time thereafter. The forms of 
these liturgies were, however, to a large degree 
common, indicating clearly that they all had their 
origin in one primitive liturgy of the early Christian 
Church. 

The history of the Book of Common Prayer is, 
of course, most direftly concerned with the Chris- 
tian liturgies which preceded it in the British Islands. 
The first of these was the Celtic, but all the Chris- 

* The first seven General Councils of the Church conducted their de- 
bates and wrote their decrees in Greek. "The early Roman Church 
was but a colony of Greek Christians or Grecised Jews. The early 
fathers of the Roman Church wrote in Greek and the early Popes were 
not Italians, but Greeks. Pope is not Latin, but Greek, and is now the 
title of every pastor in the Eastern Church." Stanley's Eastern Church, 
p. 14 et seq. 

[ix] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

tian churches, with their books of worship, were 
destroyed by the Anglo-Saxon conquerors prior to 
600 a.d., and the Celtic forms of Christian devo- 
tion remained only in the outskirts of England and 
in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. After this and before 
the Norman Conquest, the liturgy of the Celtic 
Church was gradually restored in some parts of 
England, but the use of the Liturgy of Rome was so 
far introduced and extended by the Roman mission- 
aries that the Anglo-Saxon Liturgy, so called,— that 
is, the liturgy generally prevailing in England before 
the Norman Conquest, — may properly be termed the 
Roman Liturgy. After the Norman Conquest, how- 
ever, this liturgy itself was modified by Norman 
influences, so that the English Liturgy assumed a 
distin<5t character of its own. In 1085 a.d. this was 
embodied in a service-book called "The Missal ac- 
cording to the use of Sarum," which, with certain 
variations of form in the different dioceses, such as 
Hereford, York, Bangor, London and others, prac- 
tically became the English Liturgy. The liturgical 
books in which the forms or uses of worship in the 
different dioceses were contained were, however, 
for the use of the priests alone, and not for the use of 
the people, either in public or in private devotions. 
They were, of course, in manuscript, as printing was 
not introduced into England until as late as 1474 a.d., 
when Caxton printed his first book in London from 
movable types. They were also all in the Latin lan- 
guage, as all books of Christian worship had always 
been in the west of Europe and in England. Indeed, 
English, as a language common to the entire Eng- 

[-I 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

lish people, hardly existed at that time. It was not 
until after the complete fusion of the English with 
the Danes and the Normans had blended into one 
common language the different dialects which had 
previously prevailed in England that an English 
language was created capable of being used in an 
accurate literary form. 

A desire arose, however, among the people in the 
west of Europe, and especially in England, for some 
book by the use of which they could themselves take 
part in the public services of the Church ; and hence 
there came to be produced what was first called 
"The Book of Hours/' and later "The Prymer," or, 
as it has been well termed, "The Lay Folks Prayer- 
Book/'This book, like the missals and breviaries, and 
other service-books used by the priests, varied in 
form in the different dioceses, and was called "The 
Prymer after the use of Salisbury," or of York, or 
Bangor, etc., according to the diocese in which it 
was prepared and used. In comparatively early times 
these prymers were written in English, or in Eng- 
lish and in Latin. They contained invariably certain 
forms, — the office of the Blessed Virgin, the seven 
penitential Psalms, the gradual Psalms ( said to have 
been so called because it is supposed they were 
sung on the steps of the Temple ) , the Litany and the 
commendations or devotions of Psalm 119. Numer- 
ous prymers were printed, some by authority of the 
Church and others without it, prior to 1545, when a 
book called "The King's Primer" was issued under 
the authority of Henry VIII, and ordered to be used 
throughout all his dominions. This primer was printed 

[xi] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

in English and in Latin in parallel columns, and, 
although it did not contain the Communion Office, 
was the nearest approach to a Book of Common 
Prayer which had then been reached in England. 

Upon this foundation of the primitive liturgies of 
the Christian Church and the Roman service-books, 
being those used by the priests, and also the Prym- 
ers, or Lay Folks Prayer-Book, of different uses or 
forms in the different dioceses of England, the Book 
of Common Prayer was formed and framed. So far 
as the forms of "the common prayer and adminis- 
tration of the sacraments and other rites and cere- 
monies of the Church" were concerned, the Prayer- 
Book was compiled and formed from these sources. 
As to its doclrine it was necessarily made to con- 
form to the faith of the English Church as then 
understood and established, with only a few slight 
alterations which were adopted to meet the views of 
those reformers who had separated from the Church 
of Rome. This faith ordoftrine of the English Church 
was expressed in articles and formularies which had 
been from time to time established and put forth by 
the King, as the head of the Church, on the advice of 
the Convocation or assembly of the bishops and clergy . 



in 

When the supremacy of the Roman See in mat- 
ters of faith was destroyed in England, and the su- 
premacy of the King established in such matters, it 
became necessary that articles of Christian belief 
should be promulgated by the head of the English 

[ «a ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

Church. Such articles were drawn up and adopted 
by the Convocation in July, 1536. They were then 
established by royal proclamation as " Articles de- 
vised to stablish Christian quietness and unity among 
us and to avoid contentious opinions/' They were 
entitled " The Articles of our Faith," and being ten 
in number were commonly known as the "Ten Arti- 
cles. " These were followed by royal injunctions pro- 
mulgated by the King without a6lion by the Convo- 
cation, requiring the bishops and the clergy to teach 
the doftrines of the articles to the people, and also 
to cause them to learn the Creed, the Lord's Prayer 
and the Ten Commandments in English. In 1539 
the "Six Articles," so-called, were enafted. These 
required belief in the real presence in the Eucharist, 
declared against communion in both kinds, prohibited 
the marriage of the clergy, and commended private 
masses and auricular confession. Failure to conform 
to these articles was made an offence punishable by 
fines, imprisonment and death. In 1543 the rigour 
of these articles was relaxed by "A Necessary Doc- 
trine and Erudition for any Christian Man." This was 
a revision of "The Institution of a Christian Man," 
published by royal authority in 1537 and known as 
"The Bishops' Book. "This re vision, mainly prepared 
by Cranmer, was set forth by the King " with the ad- 
vice of his clergy," and was known as the "King's 
Book. "The doftrine of the English Church remained 
as set forth in the Ten Articles, the Six Articles 
and in the King's Book until 1552, when it was em- 
bodied in the Forty-Two Articles of Edward VI. 
These were also mainly prepared by Cranmer, were 

[ xiii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

approved by Convocation and by the King in Coun- 
cil, and were published in English and in Latin. All 
these were suppressed during the reign of Mary ; 
but after Elizabeth came to the throne articles were 
framed in 1559 called the Eleven Articles. In 1562 
a revision of the Forty-Two Articles was made by 
Convocation and approved by the Queen in Council. 
This revision superseded the Eleven Articles and 
reduced the number to thirty-nine. They have since 
been called the Thirty-Nine Articles, and have re- 
mained unchanged in England, Scotland and Ireland. 
These Articles of Faith are no part of the Prayer- 
Book and are not printed in the early editions. 

While Henry VIII lived and reigned, it was im- 
possible to frame a communion office essentially dif- 
ferent from that of the Roman ritual, for though he 
was determined to free England from the supremacy 
of Rome, all his predilections were in favour of its 
liturgy. While for political purposes he was willing 
to hear the views of the reformers, and to consider 
their arguments in favour of radical changes in the 
Roman system of Church government and in its forms 
of worship, such as communion in both kinds, the 
marriage of the clergy, and the disuse of private 
propitiatory masses, he yielded to none of them. Dur- 
ing his reign, however, the Church of England had 
become a distincSt body, with no allegiance to Rome; 
the Bible had been given to the people in English and 
declared to be " the only touchstone of true learn- 
ing;" the Litany and other parts of the public service, 
with many forms of private prayer, had been put forth 
by royal authority in English as well as in Latin, and 

[ xiv ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

commanded to be taught to all children in English. 
In short, the reform of the Church service had gradu- 
ally gone on in spite of the conservatism of the King, 
and at his death the people were ready for a new and 
complete liturgy. 

Henry died January 28, 1547, and on January 31 
his son, Edward, then eight years old, became king 
as Edward VI, and fell immediately, so far as mat- 
ters concerning the Church were concerned, under 
the influence of Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. 
At the first Parliament of Edward an aft was passed 
which had been approved by Convocation, requiring 
the public administration of the sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper under both kinds and in the English 
language. It was entitled " An Aft against such as 
shall unreverentlie speake against the Sacrament of 
the bodie and bloude of Christe commonlie called the 
Sacrament of the Altar, and for the receiving thereof 
in both kyndes," and was passed in December, 1 547. * 
By this aft the cup as well as the bread in commun- 
ion was for the first time legally given to the peo- 
ple in England. On March 8, 1548, the order of the 
communion service under the aft was issued, which 
supplied the proper service-book for the Sacrament. 

In the following year the King "appointed the 
Archbishop of Canterbury [Cranmer J, with other 
learned and discreet bishops and divines, to draw an 
order of divine worship, having respeft to the pure 
religion of Christ taught in the Scripture and to the 
praftice of the primitive Church/' In the meantime 
the ordinary services of the Church were continued 

* Statutes at Large (London, 1758), vol. ii. p. 192. 

[ "v ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

according to the old use of Salisbury, and in the Latin 
tongue. This commission prepared a Book of Com- 
mon Prayer which was submitted to Convocation, 
and there debated, revised, approved and laid before 
Parliament on the 9th of December, 1548. There it 
was debated at length both in the House of Lords 
and in the Commons, and finally the a6l establish- 
ing it was passed on the 21st of January, 1549. It 
was entitled " An A61 for Uniformity of Service and 
Administration of the Sacraments throughout the 
Realm." * 

Those who, in spite of the afts of supremacy, 
still adhered to the Church of Rome, and desired 
to use its ancient forms of worship, were bitterly 
opposed to the new Book of Common Prayer, and 
it was even more obnoxious to those who desired 
to do away with all the ancient forms and to have 
new forms of worship, and not merely a revision of 
old ones. Like most good work, the Prayer-Book 
was condemned because it did too much, and also be- 
cause it did not do enough. The calling in by royal 
command of all the old service-books to be destroyed 
in 1550, also came at a time when the people were 
in great distress from a depreciated currency, high 
prices and lack of employment, and was one of the 
causes of widespread insurrections against the gov- 
ernment. These were finally suppressed, but persis- 
tent attacks continued to be made upon the new form 
of worship, especially upon the Communion Office, by 
those who felt that by it the Roman mass had really 
not been abolished. 

* Statutes at Large, vol. ii. p. 212. 

[ xvi ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

It became evident that a revision of the Book of 
Common Prayer was necessary for the peace of the 
realm. Commissioners were accordingly appointed 
by the Crown and instructed to make such altera- 
tions in the Book as they might consider desirable. 
They completed their work before the end of the 
year 1551, and the revised Book was laid before 
Parliament, where it was under consideration and 
debate from March 19 to April 14, 1552, when a 
second aft was passed, establishing it as the only 
lawful form of worship.* This was entitled "An Ac\ 
for the Uniformity of Service and Administration of 
Sacraments throughout the Realm.' ' It referred to 
the first Book of Common Prayer "as a very Godly 
order set forth by authority of Parliament for Com- 
mon Prayer and administration of the Sacraments 
to be used in the mother tongue within this Church 
of England agreeable to the Word of God, and the 
primitive Church, very comfortable to all good peo- 
ple/' and declared that the revision was "because 
there hath risen in the use and exercise of the afore- 
said Common Service in the Church, heretofore set 
forth, divers doubts for the fashion and manner of the 
ministration of the same, rather by the curiosity of the 
Minister and mistakers, than of any other worthy 
cause." Wherefore the a6l declared that Parliament 
"hath caused the aforesaid order of Common Ser- 
vice, entitled 'The Book of Common Prayer/ to 
be faithfully and godly perused, explained, and made 
fully perfect." The aft then declared that if after 
November 1,1552, any person should " willingly and 

* Statutes at Large, vol. ii. p. 240. 

[ xvii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

wittingly hear and be present at any other manner 
or form of Common Prayer, or Administration of the 
Sacraments, of making of Ministers in the Churches, 
or of any other rites contained in the book" he 
should for the first offence be imprisoned for six 
months, for the second for one year, and for the third 
offence for life. In this revision the Ordinal or form 
for making bishops, priests and deacons was first 
made part of the Prayer- Book. This was prepared 
and published early in -1550 as a companion to the 
Book of Common Prayer of 1549, and is therefore 
sometimes spoken of as the "Ordinal of 1549." It 
was, however, no part of the first Prayer-Book, but 
the Acl: of Uniformity of 1552 specifically added to 
the Book of Common Prayer, to be of like force and 
authority," A forme and maner of making and con- 
secrating of Archebisshops, Bisshops, Priestes and 
Deacos." 

An interesting matter connected with the second 
Prayer-Book of Edward VI is that relating to the 
"Black Rubric/' so-called. This rubric was not con- 
tained in the Prayer-Book which was adopted by Par- 
liament by the Acl: of Uniformity of April 15, 1552, 
and therefore never had the sanction of Parliament. 
But on October 27, only four days before the Book 
was required by the a 61 to be generally used, an or- 
der was passed by the King in Council requiring the 
rubric to be added to the Communion Office. It was 
printed in black, and, after a preamble stating the 
propriety of kneeling in the Communion, declared 
that "it is not meant thereby that any adoration is 
done or ought to be done either unto the sacramental 

[ xviii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

bread and wine there bodily received, or unto any- 
real and essential presence there being of Christ's 
natural flesh and blood. For as concerning the sac- 
ramental bread and wine, they remain still in their 
very natural substances, and therefore may not be 
adored ; for that were idolatry to be abhorred of all 
faithful Christians; and as concerning the natural 
body and blood of our Saviour Christ, they are in 
heaven and not here; for it is against the truth of 
Christ's true natural body to be in more places than 
in one at one time/' This rubric was omitted from 
the Prayer-Book as established by the Act of Uni- 
formity of Elizabeth in 1559, because it was no part 
of the Prayer-Book of 1552 as enacted by Parlia- 
ment. It was included in the present Prayer-Book 
as established by the Act of 1662, but in a slightly 
modified form. 

Edward died July 6, 1553, and this revision of the 
Prayer-Book was in force only eight months, and 
therefore did not come into general use throughout 
the realm. The liturgy of the Church as comprised 
in the two books of Edward was the one admirable 
thing which his unhappy reign produced. 

The first Parliament in the reign of Mary as- 
sembled on October 24, and was dissolved on De- 
cember 6, 1553. The acts of the previous reign for 
communion in both kinds and establishing the Book of 
Common Prayer were repealed, and it was provided 
that after December 20, 1553, there should be no 
other kind of service nor administration of sacra- 
ments except such as were "most commonly used 
in England in the last year of Henry VIII." At the 

[ xix ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

next Parliament, between November 12, 1554, and 
January 16, of the next year, an a6l was passed "re- 
pealing all Articles and Provisions made against the 
See Apostolic of Rome since the 20th year of King 
Henry VIII. " The result of these a6ts was to restore 
the supremacy of Rome and the Roman mass, to take 
the cup from the laity, and to proscribe the use of the 
Book of Common Prayer. 

The reign of Mary lasted until November 17,1558, 
when Elizabeth came to the throne. She proceeded 
with great caution in matters of religion. She first 
caused a Litany to be prepared for use in the Chapel 
Royal, substantially the same as that found in the 
Prayer-Book of Edward VI, and by proclamation 
on December 27, 1558, forbade any preaching or 
teaching other than that of the Gospels and Epistles 
and the Ten Commandments in the English tongue, 
or the use of any manner of public prayer, rite or 
ceremony in the Church but that which was already 
used, and by law received, or the common litany used 
in her own chapel, and the Lord's Prayer, and the 
Creed in English, until further aftion by Parliament. 

The first Parliament of Elizabeth was opened 
on January 23, 1559, and closed May 8, 1559- On 
March 1 8 an aci was passed " to restore to the Crown 
the ancient jurisdiction over the estate ecclesiasti- 
cal and spiritual, and abolishing all foreign powers re- 
pugnant to the same." On April 28 Parliament passed 
" An A61 for the Uniformity of Common Prayer, and 
Service in the Church, and Administration of the Sac- 
raments/'* which had not, for obvious reasons, been 

# Statutes at Large, vol. ii. p. 317. 

[XX] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

submitted to the Convocation, and against which all 
the Bishops present in the Lords voted. This a<5t re- 
cited that at the death of Edward "there remained 
one uniform order of common service and prayer, 
and of the administration of Sacraments, Rites and 
Ceremonies in the Church of England, which was 
set forth in one book, entitled : The Book of Common 
Prayer, etc., authorized by an A61 of Parliament, 
entitled An A61 for the Uniformity of Common 
Prayer, and administration of the Sacraments, the 
which was repealed, and taken away by A 61 of Par- 
liament, in the first year of the reign of Queen 
Mary, to the great decay of the due honour of 
God, and discomfort to the professors of the truth of 
Christ's religion/' The aft then provided that the 
repealing a6l of the reign of Mary should be void 
" from and after the Feast of the Nativity of S. John 
Baptist" (June 24, 1559), and that the said Book of 
Common Prayer, " with the alterations and additions 
therein added and appointed by this statute shall 
stand and be in full force and effecV' after said day. 
The a6l further required that after that time the ser- 
vice in all churches or other places in the Queen's 
dominions should be according to the Prayer-Book 
of Edward VI with said alterations. The only im- 
portant alteration in the Book of Common Prayer 
made by this aft was that with regard to the orna- 
ments of the church and of the ministers. The se- 
cond Prayer-Book of Edward VI forbade the use of 
Albe, Vestment or Cope, but the Elizabethan Prayer- 
Book provided that "such ornaments of the church 
and of the minister thereof shall be retained, and be 

[ xxi ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

used as was in this Church of England, by authority 
of Parliament, in the second year of the reign of 
King Edward VI until other order shall be therein 
taken by the authority of the Queen's Majesty/' 

This a 61, however, contained a new and important 
provision that " If there shall happen any contempt 
or irreverence, to be used in the Ceremonies or Rites 
of the Church, by the misusing of the Orders ap- 
pointed in this book, the Queen's Majesty may, by 
the like advice of the said Commissioners or Metro- 
politan, ordain and publish such further ceremonies 
or rites as may be most for the advancement of God's 
glory, the Edifying of his Church, and due reverence 
of Christ's Holy Mysteries and Sacraments." Under 
this authority, as well as in the exercise of the power 
of the Sovereign as the Supreme Head of the Church, 
the Queen issued the so-called "Injunctions " and 
"Advertisements," prescribing many things with re- 
gard to public worship which were not specifically 
provided for by the Book of Common Prayer. 

After Parliament in 1534 declared that the Eng- 
lish Sovereign was the only Supreme Head of the 
Church in England in matters spiritual as well as 
temporal, it became the practice for the sovereign to 
issue commands as to church services and other ec- 
clesiastical matters. These were sometimes issued by 
the advice of Convocation or of commissioners of the 
clergy appointed by the Crown, but they were fre- 
quently issued independent of such advice and in the 
usual form, that is, by advice of the Council. As 
early as 1536 the King issued instructions abolishing 
holy-days during the harvest season solely upon his 

[ xxii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

own authority. These instructions were usually called 
injunctions, sometimes advertisements. Henry VIII 
issued injunctions at various times. Edward VI in 
1547 issued injunctions which recited the injunctions 
of Henry VIII, reaffirmed them and added other in- 
junctions to them, by advice of the King's Council. 
In 1559 Elizabeth issued injunctions commanding 
many things with regard to church service and the 
conduct of the clergy. In 1564 she issued what are 
called" advertisements " as to matters of clerical vest- 
ments, church ornaments, etc. 

The supremacy of Rome which had been destroyed 
in the reign of Henry VIII, and restored in the reign 
of Mary, was again effectively destroyed, and all the 
power of the Church of Rome in England overthrown 
by Parliament in 1559- Speaking of this settlement 
of religious matters, Elizabeth wrote to the Catholic 
princes of Europe: "No new religion has been set 
up in England but that which was commanded by 
Our Saviour, practiced by the primitive Church, and 
approved by the fathers of the best antiquity." The 
Roman Church, however, did not quietly submit to 
this. The Pope issued a bull of excommunication 
against Elizabeth, reciting that she was "an heretic, 
a pretended Queen of England abandoned to all 
wickedness," who had " wickedly usurped to herself 
the supremacy over the whole Church of England," 
and "stri6tly prohibited the exercise of the true reli- 
gion (which Mary, the lawful Queen of famous me- 
mory, had by the assistance of this see restored after 
it has been lately suppressed by Henry VIII, an 
apostate therefrom);" that she had "abolished the 

[ xxiii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

used as was in this Church of England, by authority 
of Parliament, in the second year of the reign of 
King Edward VI until other order shall be therein 
taken by the authority of the Queen's Majesty/' 

This aft, however, contained a new and important 
provision that " If there shall happen any contempt 
or irreverence, to be used in the Ceremonies or Rites 
of the Church, by the misusing of the Orders ap- 
pointed in this book, the Queen's Majesty may, by 
the like advice of the said Commissioners or Metro- 
politan, ordain and publish such further ceremonies 
or rites as may be most for the advancement of God's 
glory, the Edifying of his Church, and due reverence 
of Christ's Holy Mysteries and Sacraments." Under 
this authority, as well as in the exercise of the power 
of the Sovereign as the Supreme Head of the Church, 
the Queen issued the so-called "Injunctions " and 
"Advertisements," prescribing many things with re- 
gard to public worship which were not specifically 
provided for by the Book of Common Prayer. 

After Parliament in 1534 declared that the Eng- 
lish Sovereign was the only Supreme Head of the 
Church in England in matters spiritual as well as 
temporal, it became the practice for the sovereign to 
issue commands as to church services and other ec- 
clesiastical matters. These were sometimes issued by 
the advice of Convocation or of commissioners of the 
clergy appointed by the Crown, but they were fre- 
quently issued independent of such advice and in the 
usual form, that is, by advice of the Council. As 
early as 1536 the King issued instructions abolishing 
holy-days during the harvest season solely upon his 

[ xxii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

own authority. These instructions were usually called 
injunctions, sometimes advertisements. Henry VIII 
issued injunctions at various times. Edward VI in 
1547 issued injunctions which recited the injunctions 
of Henry VIII, reaffirmed them and added other in- 
junctions to them, by advice of the King's Council. 
In 1559 Elizabeth issued injunctions commanding 
many things with regard to church service and the 
conduct of the clergy. In 1564 she issued what are 
called" advertisements " as to matters of clerical vest- 
ments, church ornaments, etc. 

The supremacy of Rome which had been destroyed 
in the reign of Henry VIII, and restored in the reign 
of Mary, was again effe&ively destroyed, and all the 
power of the Church of Rome in England overthrown 
by Parliament in 1559. Speaking of this settlement 
of religious matters, Elizabeth wrote to the Catholic 
princes of Europe: "No new religion has been set 
up in England but that which was commanded by 
Our Saviour, practiced by the primitive Church, and 
approved by the fathers of the best antiquity/' The 
Roman Church, however, did not quietly submit to 
this. The Pope issued a bull of excommunication 
against Elizabeth, reciting that she was "an heretic, 
a pretended Queen of England abandoned to all 
wickedness," who had " wickedly usurped to herself 
the supremacy over the whole Church of England," 
and "stri6tly prohibited the exercise of the true reli- 
gion (which Mary, the lawful Queen of famous me- 
mory, had by the assistance of this see restored after 
it has been lately suppressed by Henry VIII, an 
apostate therefrom);" that she had "abolished the 

[ xxiii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

sacrifice of the mass and the rites of the Catholic 
Church, and commanded books containing in them 
downright heresies to be published throughout the 
realm, and ordered impious rites and ceremonies to 
be observed by her subjects." Wherefore, the bull of 
excommunication declared Elizabeth to be deprived 
of her pretended title as Queen, and absolved all Her 
subjecis, and others who had taken an oath to her as 
Queen, from such oaths, and commanded them not 
to presume to obey her or her laws, and declared 
that those who should do so would be subject to 
like excommunication. 

Later another bull of excommunication of like ef- 
fecl was issued against the Queen, and finally, when 
the great Armada was about to be sent by Spain to 
conquer England, a final bull of excommunication 
was issued. This recited the previous bulls, stated 
that the Pope had " used great diligence with divers 
princes and especially with the mighty and Catholic 
King of Spain, to use force, that that woman may be 
deje<5ted from her degree and that the evil men and 
hurtful to mankind which adhere to her may be 
punished, and that kingdom be reduced to certain 
reformation and quietness/' Then the bull set forth 
at great length the wicked conducl of Elizabeth in 
abolishing the true Catholic religion and introducing 
heretical forms of worship, and again declared Eliz- 
abeth illegitimate and a true usurper of the kingdom 
of England, and absolved all her subjects from all 
duty of fidelity and obedience to her, and threatened 
them with excommunication if they continued to 
obey her. The Spanish Armada was specially de- 

[ xx i y ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

scribed in this bull, and all persons who took part 
in the invasion of England were granted plenary 
indulgence for anything they might do in carrying 
on the war against England.* 

But the time had gone by when the thunders of 
the Vatican could shake the throne of England. Bur- 
leigh and Bacon were prudent and wise upon the 
land, Hawkins and Drake resistless upon the sea, 
and Elizabeth herself was more than a match for all 
the diplomats of Europe. The great Armada failed 
of its purpose, and when it was driven, shattered and 
broken, around the headlands of Scotland and Ire- 
land, the last real danger of a foreign invasion of 

* The papal bulls promulgated by the Bishop of Rome against Henry VIII 
and against Queen Elizabeth were as follows: 

Bull of damnation and excommunication, promulgated by Pope 
Paul III against Henry VIII and his partisans, dated at Rome, August 30, 
1535. Latin text published in Bullarium privilegiorum ac diplomatum Ro- 
manorum pontijicum, torn. iv. pars 1, pp. 125-130 (Romae, 1745). Then 
follows (ibid., pp. 130-132) the executory bull, by the same pope, dated 
December 17, 1539. 

Bull of damnation and excommunication, promulgated by Pope Pius V 
against Queen Elizabeth and her followers, dated at Rome, February 25, 
1569 [i.e. 1570]. An English translation of this is to be found in Cam- 
den's History, vol. 2, part 4, p. 427 (London, 1706). Latin text pub- 
lished in Bullarium privilegiorum ac diplomatum Romanorum pontificum, 
torn. iv. pars 3, pp. 98, 99 (Romae, 1746). This bull was renewed by 
Pope Gregory XIII (1 572-1 585) in his general bull, In nomine santtae et 
individuae Trinitatis (In the name of the sacred and undivided Trinity), 
— a bull against heretics, dated Rome, March 19, 1572; and, again, in 
1577. Pope Sixtus V renewed the same bull of excommunication in 
1588. An English translation of this is to be found in Purckas His 
Pilgrimes, vol. iv. p. 1895 (London, 1625). 

As a matter of fact an excommunicatory bull holds good until re- 
moved by a bull of absolution. A pope cannot excommunicate a person 
a second time, unless that person has been absolved by another bull. 
He can, however, affirm his predecessor's bull. This was done by Popes 
Gregory XIII and Sixtus V. 

[ xxv ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

England passed away. The sturdy English people 
continued to serve the Queen according to the laws 
of the realm, and to worship God according to the 
use of the Book of Common Prayer, during the long 
and able reign of Elizabeth, until her death in 1603. 



IV 

James I, son of the fickle Mary, Queen of Scots, and 
the imbecile Darnley, became king March 24 of 
that year. James was cautious, mean, loquacious and 
cowardly, but he had a low cunning and shrewdness 
which made him the wisest fool in Christendom. The 
reign of James continued from March 24, 1603, to 
March 22, 1625. No revision of the Prayer-Book 
was made by Parliament during that time. James, 
however, in 1604, called a conference of represen- 
tatives of the bishops and clergy of the Church and 
of the Puritans to consider whether changes should 
be made in the Book of Common Prayer. This was 
called the" Hampton Court Conference/' and the King 
with Scotch shrewdness himself presided at it, took 
part in its discussions, and shaped its conclusions. As 
the result of the Conference the King issued a pro- 
clamation on March 5, 1 604," for the authorizing and 
Uniformity of the Book of Common Prayer, to be 
used throughout the Realm/' and another proclama- 
tion on July 16, of the same year, for the same pur- 
pose. These proclamations recited the result of the 
Hampton Court Conference, declared that it appeared 
to the King and his Council " that there was no cause 
why any change should be made neither in the doc- 

[ xxvi ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

trine nor in the forms and rites of the Book of Com- 
mon Prayer," but that "some small things might 
rather be explained than changed, not that the same 
might not very well have been borne with by men 
who would have made a reasonable construction of 
them/' The proclamation then stated that for the 
purpose of making such explanation a commission 
had been issued to the Archbishop of Canterbury 
and others, " according to the Form which the Laws 
of this Realm in like case prescribe to be used, to 
make the said Explanation and to cause the whole 
Book of Common Prayer, with the same Explana- 
tions, to be newly printed/' This being done, the 
proclamation proceeds "to require and enjoin all 
men, as well Ecclesiastical as Temporal, to conform 
themselves unto it, and to the practice thereof, as 
the only public form of serving God, established and 
allowed to be in this Realm." 

The action of the King in this matter was objected 
to by the Puritans upon the ground that no altera- 
tion could be made in the Book of Common Prayer 
except by Parliament. But it is evident by the terms 
of the King's proclamation that he assumed to make 
these slight alterations under authority of the aft of 
Parliament which established the Prayer-Book in the 
time of Elizabeth. James claimed that the authority 
given by this act to the Queen to establish further 
rites and ceremonies was given to the Crown and 
inherited by him as the successor of Elizabeth. The 
most important result of the Hampton Court Confer- 
ence was an order by the King in response to the 
request of the Puritans for a uniform translation of 

[ xxvii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

the Bible. This was completed in 1611, and is com- 
monly called the "King James Bible." 

Charles I became king March 27, 1625, and no 
revision of the Prayer-Book, nor any change in its 
language, except what is usual in all the reprints 
of books at that time, was made during his reign. In 
1 637, however, a Prayer-Book was drawn up for use 
in Scotland, which was put in force by a royal pro- 
clamation December 20, 1636. This book was based 
upon the English Book of Common Prayer, but dif- 
fered from it in many respects. It was commonly 
called "Laud's Book" because it was said to have 
been prepared at the instance of Archbishop Laud. 
It was rejected by the clergy and the people of Scot- 
land. 

The Book of Common Prayer continued to be the 
lawful form of worship until January 3, 1644, when 
Parliament passed an ordinance "for the taking away 
of the Book of Common Prayer, and for the establish- 
ing and putting in execution of the Directory for the 
publique Worship of God."* This ordinance recited 
that "The Lords and Commons assembled in Parlia- 
ment, taking into serious consideration the manifold 
inconveniences that have arisen by the Book of Com- 
mon Prayer in this kingdom and resolving according 
to their Covenant, to reform religion according to the 
Word of God, and the example of the best reformed 
Churches; have consulted with the reverend, pious 

*The legislation with regard to the preparation and adoption of this ex- 
traordinary book will be found in the Journals of the House of Lords 
and of the House of Commons, as follows: Journals of the House of Lords, 
1644, page 1 19; pages 121, 122; page 125; page 271 ; 1645, pages 551- 
552. Journals of the House of Commons, 1 644, page 6 ; pages 9, 1 o ; page 10 ; 
pages 11, 12; page 77; 1645, page 114; 1745, page 251. 

[ xxviii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

and learned Divines, called together for that pur- 
pose; and do judge it necessary that the said Book 
of Common Prayer be abolished, and the Directory 
for the Public Worship of God hereafter mentioned 
be established and observed, in all the Churches 
within this kingdom/' 

It was therefore ordained that the statutes of 
uniformity of Edward and Elizabeth establishing the 
Book of Common Prayer be repealed, and the Direc- 
tory used in all exercises of the Public Worship of 
God. In August of the same year it was ordered 
that all Common Prayer Books remaining in parish 
churches and chapels should be within one month 
taken away to be destroyed, and that if any person 
should at any time cause the Book of Common Prayer 
to be used in any church, chapel or place of worship, 
or in any private place or family within the kingdom 
of England, he should for the first offence pay a 
fine of =£5, for the second a fine of ^10, and for the 
third offence be imprisoned one whole year. 

The Directory w r as not a Prayer-Book at all. It 
consisted of prohibitions of liturgical worship and of 
directions to the ministers with regard to the con- 
duel: of such services as might be deemed discreet 
and expedient. Of its eighty-six small printed pages, 
eight are taken up with a preface; three contain 
directions as to the " Assembling of the Congrega- 
tion," two as to the "Public Reading of the Holy 
Scriptures;" thirteen and a half are given to direc- 
tions as to "Prayer before the Sermon," nine to the 
"Preaching of the Word," and three to the " Prayer 
after the Sermon." In the directions as to the Ad- 

[ xxix ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

ministration of the Sacraments nine pages are de- 
voted to Baptism, eight to the Lord's Supper, two to 
the Sanftification of the Lord's Day, seven to Mar- 
riage, eight to the Visitation of the Sick, one and a 
half to the Burial of the Dead, five and a half to 
Public Fasting, three and a half to Days of Public 
Thanksgiving, one to Singing of Psalms, and two 
to an Appendix touching Days and Places of Public 
Worship. Its character is indicated by its provision 
concerning the burial of the dead which was " When 
any person departeth this life, let the dead body, 
upon the day of Buriall, be decently attended from 
the house to the place appointed for publique Buriall, 
and there immediately interred without any Cere- 
mony. And because the customes of kneeling down, 
and praying by, or towards the dead Corps, and other 
such usages, in the place where it lies, before it 
be carried to Buriall, are Superstitious: and for that, 
praying, reading, and singing both in going to, and 
at the Grave, have been grosly abused, are no way 
beneficiall to the dead, and have proved many wayes 
hurtfull to the living, therefore let all such things 
be laid aside. Howbeit, we judge it very convenient, 
that the Christian friends which accompany the dead 
body to the place appointed for publique Buriall, doe 
apply themselves to meditations, and conferences 
suitable to the occasion : and, that the Minister, as up- 
on other occasions, so at this time, if he be present, 
may put them in remembrance of their Duty. That 
this shall not extend to deny any civill respefts or 
differences at the Buriall, suitable to the ranke and 
condition of the party deceased whiles he was living." 

[ XXX ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

Charles II came to the throne May 29, 1660, the 
use of the Directory ceased, and the Book of Com- 
mon Prayer, as it had been before established, was 
used from that time without change until it was re- 
vised by a commission of twelve bishops and twelve 
Presbyterian divines, with nine assistants on each 
side as substitutes for the principals when they 
should be absent, known as the " Savoy Conference/' 
This commission was called by a royal warrant on 
March 25, 1661. It opened on April 15, 1661, at the 
Bishop of London's lodgings in the Savoy, and closed 
on July 25, 1661. On June 29, 1661, a bill for the 
" Uniformity of Public Prayer and Administration of 
the Sacraments " was read for the first time in the 
House of Commons. The proceedings in the Com- 
mons showed the desire of the people to restore the 
old Book of Common Prayer without delay and sub- 
stantially unchanged. While the conference was sit- 
ting, the Commons appointed " a Committee to view 
the several laws for confirming the Liturgy of the 
Church of England, and to make search whether 
the original book of the Liturgy, annexed to the act 
passed in the fifth and sixth years of King Edward 
the Sixth, be yet extant; and to bring in a compen- 
dious bill to supply any defect in the former laws, and 
to provide for an effectual conformity to the Liturgy 
of the Church for the time to come/' 

On July 3, 1661 , the Bill for Uniformity was read 
the second time, and together with the printed Book 
of Common Prayer, then brought in, referred to a 
committee. It is interesting to note that no original 
Prayer-Book of Edward VI could then be found, 

[ xxxi ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

and therefore the book actually used by Parliament 
was one printed in 1604. On July 9 the Bill for 
Uniformity, with the Prayer-Book annexed, was 
passed by the Commons. On the next day the bill 
went to the House of Lords, which laid it aside, 
and soon after Parliament was prorogued until No- 
vember 30. 

On Oftober 10, 1661, the King directed the Can- 
terbury Convocation to make a review of the Book of 
Common Prayer, and present to him such alterations 
as they should see fit, and on November 22 the 
same direction was given to the York Convocation. 
They proceeded with their work, but not as rapidly 
as Parliament desired, for it appears that on Decem- 
ber 16 a message went from the Commons to the 
Lords to remind them of the Bill for Uniformity, and 
that on January 28, 1662, the Commons sent another 
message to the Lords requesting despatch for the 
Bill of Uniformity. The Lords were unable to pro- 
ceed in the matter because they were waiting for 
the amended Prayer-Book from the Convocations. 
Finally on the 25th of February, 1662, the amended 
book was brought into the House of Lords by the 
Lord Chancellor with the King's ratification. It was 
there considered on March 13, 14, 15, 17, and 18, 
and then accepted by the Lords, and an A6t for 
Uniformity, with the Book &s amended annexed, was 
passed and sent to the Commons. There the Bill and 
the Book as amended were considered and debated 
at great length until the Aft of Uniformity was 
passed on May 19, requiring the amended Book of 
Common Prayer to be used in all the churches of 

[ xxxii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

England on August 24 following.* It was entitled 
"An Aft for the Uniformity of Publick Prayers, and 
Administration of Sacraments, and other Rites and 
Ceremonies : And for establishing the Form of Mak- 
ing, Ordaining and Consecrating Bishops, Priests 
and Deacons in the Church of England." 



The Book of Common Prayer was first printed 
and used in Ireland in 1551 in compliance with an 
injunction of Edward VI sent to the Lord Deputy in 
February of that year, but without any action of the 
Irish Parliament. The second Book of 1552 was never 
used in Ireland. No a6l was passed in Ireland to pro- 
hibit the use of the Prayer-Book during the reign 
of Mary, but it ceased to be openly used there after 
the death of Edward VI until the accession of Eliza- 
beth, when its use was resumed. In 1560 the Irish 
Parliament passed an aft of uniformity establishing 
the Book of Common Prayer as it was then esta- 
blished in England. The acl, however, provided that 
in every church or place where the common minister 
or priest had not the use or knowledge of the Eng- 
lish tongue, he might say and use all the common 
and open prayer in the Latin tongue in the order 
and form mentioned and set forth in the Book es- 
tablished by the acl. This provision seems to have as- 
sumed that priests who could not read English could 
translate it into Latin which they could read. The 
want of a Latin version was, however, supplied by a 

* Statutes at Large, vol. ii. p. 696. 

[ xxxiii 1 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

translation of the English Book into Latin for use in 
the chapels of colleges, made by authority of Queen 
Elizabeth in 1 560. As prepared for this use this trans- 
lation did not contain all the occasional offices, but 
these were added in Latin, and the Book as thus com- 
pleted was sufficient for use in places in Ireland where 
the priest could read Latin, but not English. The Book 
was not printed in the Irish language until 1608.* 
In 1666, the Irish Parliament passed an aft of uni- 

1 formity establishing the English Book of Common 
Prayer of 1 662 as the service of the Church of Ire- 
land, with the addition of a prayer for the Lord Lieu- 
tenant of Ireland. The Prayer-Book thus established 

. was entitled "The Book of Common Prayer, and 
Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and 
Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of 
the Church of Ireland." This continued to be the 
title of the Book until the union of England and Ire- 
land under the aft of union of August 1 , 1800, which 
took effeft January 1, 1801. In 1800 the Churches 
of the two countries were united as "The United 
Church of England and Ireland." The title of the 
Book then became "The Book of Common Prayer," 
etc., "According to the Use of the United Church 
of England and Ireland," and so continued until the 
disestablishment of the Church in Ireland by aft of 
Parliament in 1869. The Prayer-Book was then re- 
vised and changed in some respefts by a Synod of 
the bishops and clergy in 1875, and printed in 1878 
under the title of "The Book of Common Prayer," 
etc.," According to the Use of theChurch of Ireland." 

*It was printed in French in 1553 and in Welsh in 1567. 

[ xxxiv ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

The Book of Common Prayer was never esta- 
blished by law as the form of the church service in 
Scotland. James I, and afterwards Charles I, attempt- 
ed to merge the Scottish and English Churches and 
to establish the English Liturgy in Scotland. The 
attempt of Charles to force the use of the Book 
of Common Prayer in the form prepared by Arch- 
bishop Laud and others in 1637 led to the "great 
covenant/' which was signed throughout Scotland, 
binding the subscribers to support the reformed 
Church of Scotland. Finally in 1689 and 1690 the 
Church of Scotland was established by two statutes 
" Ratifying the Confession of Faith and settleing 
Presbyterian Church Government/' Later, in 1707, 
an a6l was passed "for securing the Protestant Re- 
ligion and Presbyterian Church Government/ ' This 
was ratified in the English aft "for an Union of the 
Two Kingdoms of England and Scotland" passed 
in 1707. 

VI 

The doftrine and ritual of the Church of England 
are established by A6ls of Parliament and can only 
be changed by Parliament. Any question with regard 
to either of them is a question as to the meaning of 
the statute law and can only be decided by the courts 
of law. In such cases the courts have no right to 
consider what the doftrine or the ritual ought to be, 
but only what the statute says it is. Any distinction 
between what is important and what appears to be 
trivial is precluded by the fa6l that the one is esta- 
blished by the statute as much as the other. The doc- 

[ XXXV ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

trine of the Church is declared in the Thirty-Nine 
Articles established by statute in 1571. The ritual is 
fixed by the A 61 of Uniformity of 1662, establishing 
the present Book of Common Prayer. Church orna- 
ments are prescribed by the Aft of Uniformity of 
1 549, and clerical vestments by the Royal Advertise- 
ments of 1566, issued under the provisions of the 
A61 of Uniformity of 1559, and which so far as 
authorized by that statute have the force of an Aft 
of Parliament. The only changes in any of these 
matters since 1662 by A6ls of Parliament have been 
in 1871, 1872 and 1880, authorizing the use of a 
different table of lessons, of some shortened services, 
and a slight departure in some cases from the burial- 
service of the Prayer-Book. 

It must not, however, be assumed that absolute 
conformity to these rigid standards of do6trine and 
ritual, and of vestments and ornaments, has been 
always enforced. Much departure from them was 
allowed during the long reign of Elizabeth, and this 
continued to some extent during the reign of James I. 
An attempt was made by Archbishop Laud to enforce 
absolute conformity under Charles I, but with dis- 
astrous results. More or less departure from the 
established forms has ever since been allowed if not 
permitted by authority. Elasticity in forms of wor- 
ship has thus been gained, and the Book of Com- 
mon Prayer preserved from revision. This has been 
done by permitting much latitude of individual con- 
struction of the ornaments and vestments rubrics, 
and also by adding to the services of the Prayer- 
Book from time to time occasional forms of prayer 

[ xxxvi ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

and service promulgated in a few cases by A61 of 
Parliament, but generally by Royal Proclamation 
under the authority assumed to have been given 
the Crown by the Twenty-sixth Se6lion of the Aft 
of Uniformity of 1559, or under the authority of 
the Sovereign as the Supreme Head of the Church. 
More than three hundred of these forms have been 
used, and, when the reason which required them in 
each case has ceased, have been generally discon- 
tinued. A complete collection of them probably does 
not now exist, though nearly three hundred are pre- 
served in the British Museum. I refer to a few by 
way of illustration. 

In 1563, at the time of the great plague, a form 
was "set forth by the Queenes Maiesties speciall 
comaundement ... to be vsed in Common prayer 
twyse aweke, and also an order of publique fast, to 
be vsed euery Wednesday in the w r eeke, during this 
tyme of mortalitie, and other afflictions, wherwith 
the Realme at this present is visited/' 

In 1626, during the great Thirty Years' War, 
"A Forme of Prayer, Necessary to bee vsed in 
these dangerous times, of Warre and Pestilence, for 
the safety and preseruation of his Maiesty and his 
Realmes," was promulgated by Charles I. 

In 1665, "A Form of Common Prayer, with 
Thanksgiving, for the Late VicSlory by his Majesties 
Naval Forces" was set forth. This was during the 
war with the Dutch, and the victory was the defeat 
of the Dutch in the North Sea, June 3, 1665. 

At the time of the great fire in London, in 1666, 
"A Form of Common Pray er,To be used on Wednes- 

[ xxxvii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

day the Tenth day of October next, throughout the 
whole Kingdom of England, and Dominion of Wales, 
being appointed by His Majesty a Day of Fasting 
and Humiliation, in Consideration of the late dread- 
ful Fire, which wasted the greater part of the city of 
London," was "set forth by His Majesties special 
Command/' 

In 1784, after the acknowledgement of the in- 
dependence of the United States, there was issued 
" A Form of Prayer, and Thanksgiving to Almighty 
God ; to be used in all Churches and Chapels through- 
out England, . . . , on Thursday, the Twenty-ninth 
of July, being the Day appointed by Proclamation for 
a General Thanksgiving to Almighty God, for put- 
ting an End to the late bloody, extended, and ex- 
pensive War in which we were engaged/' 

In 1789, "A form of Prayer and Thanksgiving" 
for the recovery of George III "from the severe 
illness with which he hath been afflicled" was "set 
forth by his Majesty's special command." 

In 1 798, A Form of Prayer and Thanksgiving was 
promulgated by royal proclamation "for the late 
glorious Vi6lory obtained by His Majesty's Ships of 
War, under the Command of Rear Admiral Lord 
Nelson of the Nile, over the French Fleet." 

"A Form of Prayer and Thanksgiving to Al- 
mighty God; for the Glorious Victory obtained over 
the French on Sunday the Eighteenth Day of June, 
at Waterloo by the Allied Armies under the Com- 
mand of . . . the . . . Duke of Wellington and . . . 
Prince Blucher. To be used . . . after the General 
Thanksgiving throughout the Cities of London and 

[ xxxviii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

Westminster ... on Sunday the Second Day of July 
1815; and in all Churches and Chapels throughout 
England and Wales on the Sunday after the Minis- 
ters thereof shall have received the same." 

In 1847, "A Form of Prayer to Almighty God; 
for relief from the dearth and scarcity now existing 
in parts of the United Kingdom, owing to the failure 
of some of the crops of the present year." 

In 1856, several forms of Prayer and Thanks- 
giving for success in the war against Russia. One was 
"Especially for the Capture of the Town of Sebas- 
topol ;" another," A Form ... for a General Thanks- 
giving to Almighty God ; for His great Goodness in 
putting an End to the War in which we were engaged 
against Russia." 

In 1 859, " A Form of Prayer and Thanksgiving to 
Almighty God ; for the Success granted to our Arms 
in suppressing the Rebellion and restoring Tranquil- 
ity in Her Majesty's Indian Dominions." 

In 1 866, " A Special Form of Prayer to Almighty 
God; to be read on Sunday the Twelfth Day of 
August, 1866, and whenever Divine Service is cele- 
brated, during the prevalence of the Cholera, and of 
Cattle Plague, in this Country." 

In 1887, "A Form of Thanksgiving and Prayer 
to Almighty God, upon the completion of fifty years 
of Her Majesty's reign." 

In addition to these general forms of prayer and 
special service to be used throughout the country, 
many forms have been locally issued in different 
dioceses, not only in England but in the colonies. 
In 1852, in Colombo a form was used "for receiv- 

[ xxxix ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

ing Romanists into the Communion of the English 
Church/' and similar forms were used in South 
Africa. 

Numerous forms for the consecrating of churches, 
chapels and church-yards have been prepared and 
used under authority of bishops of various dioceses. In 
some cases forms of service have been promulgated 
for the dedication of bells, for the opening of new 
bells and of new clocks, or for the opening of a new 
organ in a particular church or cathedral. In 1872 
"A Special Form of Service" was authorized to be 
used in the diocese of London for "an increased 
supply of missionaries/' In 1898 a "Memorial Ser- 
vice for them that are fallen asleep in Christ" was 
approved by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Special 
forms have also been authorized for the reopening 
of restored churches, and for blessing upon the fields 
and fisheries and mines. 

Three special prayers were inserted in the Prayer- 
Book of 1662 which have since been discontinued, 
One was for the 30th of January, the anniversary 
of the execution of Charles I; one for the 29th of 
May, the anniversary of the restoration of Charles II ; 
and the other for the 5th of November, commemo- 
rating the deliverance from the Gunpowder Plot. 
These were all in use until 1 859, when they were re- 
moved by a royal warrant, being considered unde- 
sirable from a political point of view. 



[ *n 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

VII 

The English of the Prayer-Book is from various 
sources. The scriptural portions are from the first 
printed English translation of the Bible by Cover- 
dale in 1535, revised and published in England in 
1539, and popularly called, because of its folio size, 
the "Great Bible/' This was followed by a revised 
version published under the approval of the bishops 
in 1568, and hence called "The Bishops' Bible," and 
in 1611 by the King James Version. 

The portions which were translated from the Latin 
breviary and the forms of the early Church were 
probably the production of Cranmer, who was per- 
haps the most effective master of English style in 
his time. The result was that not the least inter- 
esting feature of this wonderful Book is its fine liter- 
ary style. It is written in the best English, as the 
Roman service-books are written in the worst Latin. 
Shakespeare and Hooker wrote in the English of the 
Prayer-Book, but no great Latin writer ever wrote 
in the Latin of the Roman breviary and missal. The 
reason is obvious. The Latin language was not 
adopted for the services of the Christian Church until 
it was in its last stage of decay. But the Prayer-Book 
is of " English in all the vigour and suppleness of 
youth." A great scholar has said : "To the great Latin 
writers the noblest compositions of Ambrose and 
Gregory would have seemed to be not only bad 
writing, but senseless gibberish. The diction of the 
Book of Common Prayer, on the other hand, has di- 
rectly or indirectly contributed to form the diction 
of almost every great English writer." 

[ *li ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

Not the least of the benefits from the establish- 
ment of the Book of Common Prayer by authority 
of Parliament has been the protection against revi- 
sion which the a6ts of uniformity have given the 
language of the Book and of the Psalter. As the lan- 
guage of the Book of Common Prayer and of the 
Psalter could be changed only by A 61 of Parliament, 
the archaic but effective and stately diftion of the 
Coverdale translation of the Bible as contained in the 
Psalter,the beautiful style of the offices of the Prayer- 
Book, and the accuracy of the King James Version 
in the scriptural parts of the Book have been happily 
preserved. If one desires to see how valuable this 
protection has been to the Psalter and to the Prayer- 
Book, he has only to turn to the various special forms 
of prayer which from time to time have been put 
forth to be used in connection with the services re- 
quired by the Prayer-Book. Many of these are not 
only verbose, repetitious and inaccurate in style, but 
differ very little from those extemporaneous prayers 
in which full information is given to the Deity as to 
the condition of affairs which He is asked to remedy. 

Music, either vocal or instrumental, is recognized 
by the Prayer-Book only in the canticles at morning 
and evening prayer which form fixed parts of the 
services in the Prayer-Books of Edward VI and 
of Elizabeth, and by the direction in the present 
Prayer-Book of 1662 for an anthem "in choirs and 
places where they sing/' But singing was a part of 
the worship of the Church prior to the First Prayer- 
Book of 1549. There was also in that Book this di- 
rection in the order for matins: "And (to thende 

[ xlii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

the people may the better heare) in such places 
where they doe syng, there shall the lessons be songe 
in a playne tune after the maner of distincle read- 
yng: and lykewyse the Epistle and Gospell." This 
direction was retained in the successive revisions of 
the Prayer-Book until 1662, when it was omitted and 
provision made for the use of anthems. This was 
probably because the practice of singing the lessons 
had been long before discontinued, and the use of 
anthems had become common. The Injunctions of 
Queen Elizabeth issued in 1 559, covering many mat- 
ters of worship not specifically provided for in the 
Prayer-Book, also permitted the continuance of sing- 
ing as follows: "Because in divers Collegiate, and 
also some Parish-Churches heretofore, there have 
been Livings appointed for the maintenance of men 
and children to use singing in the Church, by means 
whereof the laudable service of Musick hath been 
had in estimation, and preserved in knowledge: the 
Queens Majesty neither meaning in any wise the 
decay of any thing that might conveniently tend to 
the use and continuance of the said science, neither 
to have the same in any part so abused in the Church, 
that thereby the Common-prayer should be the 
worse understanded of the hearers, willeth and com- 
mandeth, that first no alterations be made of such 
assignments of Living, as heretofore hath been ap- 
pointed to the use of singing or Musick in the Church, 
but that the same so remain. And that there be a 
modest and distinct song so used in all parts of the 
Common-prayers in the Church, that the same may 
be as plainly understanded, as if it were read without 

[ xliii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

singing, and yet nevertheless for the comforting of 
such that delight in Musick, it may be permitted, 
that in the beginning, or in the end of the Common- 
prayers, either at Morning or Evening, there may 
be sung an Hymn, or such like song to the praise of 
Almighty God in the best sort of melody and Musick 
that may be conveniently devised, having respecSt 
that the sentence of Hymn may be understanded and 
perceived/' This quaint injunction has never been 
withdrawn, and to it we owe the use of hymns, of 
metrical versions of the psalms and the modern an- 
them in church service. 

Metrical versions of the psalms, to be sung in 
the churches and elsewhere, were prepared and pub- 
lished and bound up with various editions of the 
Prayer-Book of the sixteenth and seventeenth centu- 
ries. The first was prepared by Thomas Sternholde, 
John Hopkins and others in 1562, and was known 
as the Sternholde and Hopkins Psalms. Another me- 
trical version was prepared in 1696, by Nicholas Tate 
and Nahum Brady, and was known as the "New 
Version" or as Tate and Brady's Psalms. The use 
of this version in church service was allowed by an 
order of the King in Council, December 3, 1696. 
Aside from this order and from the injunctions of 
Elizabeth, which have been claimed to allow it, the 
use of these metrical versions in church service had 
no civil or ecclesiastical authority, and it gradually 
ceased in connection with the use of the Book of 
Common Prayer. The last edition of the Prayer- 
Book that I have found in which the metrical psalms 
were bound up is one of 1828. Much of the singing 

[ xliv ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

now used in the service of the English Church is with- 
out any authority in the Book of Common Prayer, 
but the use of hymns has had judicial sanction, and 
music, both vocal and instrumental, as a part of the 
church service has been practised and accepted as 
lawful to such an extent that no court or other au- 
thority would now declare it illegal. 

The Psalter used in connection with the Prayer- 
Book was from the revised Coverdale translation of 
1539, probably from an edition published in 1548 by 
Grafton, the King's printer, entitled "The Psalter 
or Psalms of David, after the translation of the Great 
Bible, pointed as it should be sung in Churches/' 
This edition contained besides the psalms several 
canticles and the Litany, and the psalms differed in 
some slight respects from those in the Great Bible. 
In 1 662 most of the scriptural parts of the Book of 
Common Prayer were revised to conform to the re- 
vision of 1611 ; but the Psalter, which was then for 
the first time made an authorized part of the Book 
of Common Prayer, was not thus revised, and was 
adopted in the form in which it was originally pre- 
pared from the Coverdale translation in 1548. The 
first Pray er-Book of Edward VI, and each succeeding 
Prayer-Book, contained " a table for the order of the 
Psalms to be said at matins and evensong/' and an 
order " how the Psalter is bound to be read." But the 
Psalter was no part of the Prayer-Book as established 
by Parliament in the various acts of uniformity until 
1662. 

The original editions of the Book of 1 549 have no 
Psalter bound up with them. The first edition of the 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

Book of Common Prayer in which the Psalter was 
printed and bound up with the Prayer-Book was the 
quarto edition of the second Book of Edward VI, 
printed by Whitchurch in November, 1 552, and there 
it is found with a separate title-page following the 
Book of Common Prayer itself. In Merbecke 's " Book 
of Common Prayer Noted/' printed in 1550, the 
Psalter is not included. In the French translation of 
the Book of Common Prayer, made in 1553, the 
Psalter is not included. In the Latin translation of the 
Book of Common Prayer by Aless, made by direc- 
tion of Cranmer, and printed in Leipsic in 1551, the 
Psalter is not included. The first Prayer-Book of 
Elizabeth of 1559 did not contain the Psalter, nor 
was the same bound up with the first edition of the 
Book. But there is found bound with this edition the 
Ordinal or form and manner of making and conse- 
crating bishops, priests and deacons. The King James 
Prayer-Book, so-called, does not comprise, nor is 
there bound up with it in the first editions, either the 
Psalter or the Ordinal. The Prayer-Book prepared 
for the use of the Church of Scotland in 1637, under 
the reign of Charles I, commonly known as " Laud's 
Book," does not comprise, nor is there bound up with 
the first edition of it, either the Psalter or the Ordinal. 
The Book of Common Prayer, as established by 
the Aft of Uniformity of Charles II, in 1662, first 
included the Psalter as a part of the authorized Book. 
It was entitled in the a6t " The Book of Common 
Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and 
other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church according 
to the use of the Church of England ; together with 

[ xlvi ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

the Psalter or Psalms of David, Pointed as they are 
to be sung or said in Churches; and the Form and 
manner of Making, Ordaining and Consecrating of 
Bishops, Priests and Deacons." In this Book, as has 
been stated, the scriptural parts of the Prayer-Book 
were made to conform to the King James Version 
of 161 1. But the Psalter was the same as that which 
was prepared from the Great Bible in 1548 and 
came into use with the Prayer-Book of 1549. The 
Coverdale Psalter was thus used in connection with 
the Book of Common Prayer, without its being 
made a part of the Book by authority of Parliament 
from 1549 to 1662. It was adopted as a part of the 
Book by the AcT: of Uniformity of 1662 and was 
also adopted as a part of the American Book of 
Common Prayer, in 1790, notwithstanding the vari- 
ous revisions of the psalms by other translators, and 
especially the King James revision in 1611. This 
shows that this form of the psalms must have had 
some peculiar quality which adapted it for use in 
church service, or which caused the people to be 
'attached to it, so that they would not permit it to be 
changed. I am told by those competent to know that 
the reason this ancient form of the psalms has been 
retained in church worship is because it is better 
adapted to be sung or chanted than the subsequent 
versions. There may, however, I think, be still an- 
other reason in the fa6r that this version was better 
adapted to be committed to memory and repeated by 
those who could not read. The Psalter was in use 
before the Prayer-Book was made, and at that time 
and for many years after, most of the people who 

[ xlvii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

used the psalms were probably unable to read them, 
and therefore learned them by rote so that they 
could sing or repeat them in service. What propor- 
tion of the people who worshipped in the English 
Church during the reign of Elizabeth could read, it 
is, of course, impossible to tell, but it was probably 
small. However, whatever may be the reason, the 
interesting fa6l remains that this original translation 
of the psalms by Goverdale has held its place against 
all revision for more than three hundred and fifty 
years, wherever the service of the Book of Common 
Prayer has been used. 



VIII 

One reason for making a Book of Common Prayer 
which should comprise all the devotional services of 
the Church was the large expense then required of 
each parish to provide a complete set of the books 
used in worship according to the Roman ritual. The 
service-books of the Church before the Prayer-Book 
were not only in Latin, but were numerous. The dif- 
ferent services were contained in different books. 
These books contained not only the language of the 
service to be used by the priest, which was written 
or printed in black, but also minute directions for 
the ceremonies according to which the words were 
to be used. These dire6tions were known as rubrics, 
as they were originally written or printed in red. 
There were also service-books for different saints' 
days, which were very numerous, and each of which 
had its own psalms, lessons, etc. The fully equipped 

[ xlviii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

parish church required for all the services according 
to the Roman ritual a small library of service-books. 
The most important of them were the Missal, or 
Mass-book, being the Communion Office, the Brevi- 
ary, for the ordinary daily service of matins, lauds, 
evensong, etc., and also in many cases the service 
known as the "Hours of the Dead/' "Hours of the 
Blessed Virgin/' etc. Then there was the Manual, 
containing the occasional offices, such as those for 
baptism, visitation of the sick, marriage, burial of the 
dead, benedictions of water, candles, etc., extreme 
unftion, and in some cases portions of the mass for 
special occasions. There was also a book called the 
Gradual, for use at the mass, containing the musical 
part of the Communion service. The Psalterium was 
another book, which contained the psalms. The Le- 
genda was a book containing readings from the lives 
of the Saints and from the Fathers, as well as from 
the Scripture. The Antiphonarium was a book con- 
taining the musical notation for antiphons sung at 
the services of the hours and for mass, invitatory 
psalms, responses, etc. There were other books for 
the Gospels and Epistles at mass, and an Ordinale 
or "Pie," said to have been so called from the spotted 
appearance of its tables, to enable one to find the 
proper office appointed for any particular day. Then 
there was the Pontijicale, containing offices that could 
be performed only by a bishop, such as those of ordi- 
nation, consecration, etc. ; and then the Processionale, 
containing directions for the ordering of processions, 
etc. The service-books had become so numerous, 
and the manner of their use so complicated, that, as 

[ xlix ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

the preface of the Prayer- Book states, "many times 
there was more business to find out what should be 
done, than to read it when it was found out." 

The preface to the first Prayer-Book also said: 
"Curates shall need no other books for their public 
service but this book and the Bible, by the means 
whereof the people shall not be at so great charge 
for books as in time past they have been." To ensure 
this it was commanded by royal proclamation that 
no person should sell the book of 1549 above the 
price of two shillings and twopence, and if bound 
not above the price of four shillings apiece. The price 
of the book of 1552 was fixed in the same way at 
two shillings sixpence unbound, bound in parchment 
at three shillings and fourpence,and bound in leather 
at four shillings. But it was provided that if the 
printer, after the first impression, left out the form 
of making and consecrating archbishops, bishops, 
priests and deacons, he should sell the book unbound 
for two shillings, bound for two shillings eightpence, 
and bound in leather for three shillings and four- 
pence, and "not above." There does not appear, 
however, to have been any proclamation regulating 
the price of the Prayer-Books of Elizabeth and of 
Charles II. 

The Book of Common Prayer as prepared and 
presented to Parliament in 1 549 was of course in 
manuscript, for it was drawn up as an original work. 
But the subsequent a6ls of uniformity establishing the 
successive revisions of the Prayer-Book all annexed 
the Book which was revised. The A 61 of 1 552 speaks 
of "forme of prayer and other rites contained in 

[i] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

the Book annexed to this A6t." The A61 of 1559 
refers to the Book of 1552 as altered and added to, 
and it is known that a copy of it was a schedule of 
the act. The " Directory for the Publick Worship of 
God in the Three Kingdoms/' of 1645, was annexed 
to the Ordinance for taking away the Book of Com- 
mon Prayer and establishing the Directory. The Aft 
of 1662 speaks of the " Book annexed hereto/' The 
original book used in the preparation of the Prayer- 
Book of 1 662 was a black-letter edition of 1 636, upon 
the margin of which the changes were written, and 
from the text of which those portions omitted were 
struck out. From this Book thus revised a manuscript 
book was written out and signed by Convocation, 
December 20, 1661, and annexed to the A 61 of Uni- 
formity of 1662. This book was for many years sup- 
posed to be lost, but was finally discovered in 1867 
in a disused closet in the library of the House of 
Lords, and with it was found the printed book of 
1636, the existence of which up to that time was un- 
known. A facsimile copy of the printed book, with an 
introduction by Dean Stanley of Westminster, was 
made in 1 871 , and a facsimile of the manuscript book 
in 1899, both by authority of the government. 

Repeated attempts have been made to revise the 
Book of Common Prayer since 1662. In 1668 a re- 
vision was recommended by Charles II in a speech 
from the throne, but the Commons would have none 
of it. In 1673 and 1675 further attempts were made 
to that effect. In 1681 the Bishop of Worcester pro- 
posed changes to allow greater freedom in the mat- 
ter of vestments and in the Communion and other 

[Hi 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

offices, but without effe6t. In 1689 Parliament re- 
quested the King to summon a Convocation "to be 
advised with in ecclesiastical matters/' He accord- 
ingly appointed a commission of ten bishops and 
twenty clerics to prepare alterations of the liturgy 
and canons, and the commissioners made an elabo- 
rate series of alterations in the Book of Common 
Prayer. The opposition of Convocation to these alter- 
ations was so obvious, however, that they were never 
submitted to it. In 1879 changes with regard to orna- 
ments and vestments were drawn up by Convocation 
and presented to the Queen with a draft bill, but no 
further aftion was taken thereunder. In 1904 a royal 
commission was appointed by Edward VII to inquire 
into the conduct of divine service in the Church of 
England and as to the ornaments and fittings of 
churches, and make recommendations. This commis- 
sion made an elaborate report in 1906, recommend- 
ing that letters of business should be issued to the 
Convocations to consider the preparation of a new 
rubric relating to ornaments, "with a view to the 
ena6tment by Parliament of such modifications in 
the existing law relating to the conduct of divine ser- 
vice and to the ornaments and fittings of churches as 
may tend to secure the greater elasticity which a rea- 
sonable recognition of the comprehensiveness of the 
Church of England, and of its present needs, seems to 
demand." Upon this report no a6lion has been taken. 
Indeed, a revision of the Book of Common Prayer, 
even if desirable, — which may well be doubted, — 
seems almost impossible. It can be altered only by an 
a 61 of Parliament. Parliament would probably not a 61 

[lii] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

without previous a6lion by Convocation. The differ- 
ences between the different parties within the Church 
itself are such that it is quite improbable Convoca- 
tion would agree upon any material alteration. But 
if it did, the alterations would still have to be passed 
by the Commons, the members of which are of all 
religious views, and some of them with no special 
religious views. It would then have to pass the 
Lords, where, in respeft to alterations of the liturgy, 
the Lords Spiritual would probably have effective if 
not constructive influence. 



IX 

All the English colonies were assumed to be a 
part of the Diocese of London. The Bishop of that 
Diocese administered the affairs of the Church in the 
colonies by Commissaries,* who supplied to some ex- 
tent the office of a bishop, although they could not ad- 
minister the rite of confirmation, or ordain or depose 
priests or deacons. No person could be confirmed in 
the Anglican or Episcopal Church in America until 
after the consecration of Bishop Seabury in 1784. 
If a person desired confirmation, or if the ordination 
of a priest or deacon was required, it could be ac- 
complished only by crossing the ocean to a bishop 
in England. This caused many of the clergy to omit 
that part of the baptismal service which required the 
sponsors to take the baptized child to the Bishop for 
confirmation at a suitable age. 

* The first Commissary appointed in the United States was James Blair 
of Virginia, who was appointed in 1689, and served for fifty-three years. 
Hawkes's Contributions, p. 73. 

r mi i 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

Prior to the Revolution the English Book of Com- 
mon Prayer was used in the Episcopal churches in 
the colonies, as it was used in the English churches 
in England. Only one edition of it in English is known 
to have been published in America, and that was 
printed by William Bradford in 1710 under the 
auspices of Trinity Church, New York. Five years 
later a portion of the Prayer-Book, containing Morn- 
ing and Evening Prayer, the Litany, Church Cate- 
chism, etc., was translated into the Mohawk lan- 
guage, published in New York, and known as the 
First Mohawk Prayer-Book. Following this there 
were several adaptations of portions of the Prayer- 
Book to devotional purposes, notably an Abridge- 
ment of the Book of Common Prayer, by Benjamin 
Franklin and Sir Francis Dashwood, printed in 1 773 ; 
a Communion Office prepared by Samuel Seabury, 
Bishop of Connecticut, in 1 786 ; a manual reproduced 
from the Scottish Liturgy of 1764; and the A, B, C, 
Church of En gland Catechism and Prayers, published 
in Philadelphia by the Academy of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. The "Seabury Communion Of- 
fice, " so-called, was prepared from the Scottish Com- 
munion Office, being in fa6l almost identical with that 
of the Office of 1764, with certain private devotions 
added to it. It was prepared by Bishop Seabury in 
pursuance of an understanding which he had with 
the Scotch Bishops when he was consecrated that he 
would endeavour to introduce the Scottish Com- 
munion Office into the services of the Church in 
America. 

Worship according to the Book of Common Prayer 

Lliv] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

was very objectionable to most of the first settlers 
of New England. Many of the early New England 
ministers had been driven out of England because 
they were unwilling to accept the use of the Prayer- 
Book when Archbishop Laud sought to compel uni- 
versal conformity in matters of public worship. In 
New York, Maryland, Virginia, and other colonies 
to the south, a different feeling prevailed, and as 
persons were punished by law in New England for 
worshipping according to the Book of Common 
Prayer, so they were punished in Virginia for wor- 
shipping in any other way. The use of that form of 
worship, however, had gained ground even in the 
northern colonies, and at the time of the Revolution 
there were churches worshipping according to the 
Book of Common Prayer in all the colonies. After 
the Declaration of Independence, however, it was 
impossible for the priests to use the prayers for the 
King and the Royal family with loyalty to the new 
government, or even with safety to themselves. Such 
prayers were, therefore, omitted in most churches, 
and the use of the Prayer-Book made to conform to 
the new conditions as well as might be. When the 
independence of the colonies was acknowledged by 
England it became necessary to have the Book of 
Common Prayer modified to suit the new order of 
things, and it also became necessary to have bishops 
chosen and consecrated for an Episcopal Church in 
the United States. To preserve the apostolic succes- 
sion it was thought by many that these bishops should 
be consecrated by the English bishops, but this could 
not be done without an a<5t of Parliament permitting 

[It] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

such bishops to be consecrated without taking the 
oath of allegiance to the English Crown. The Scotch 
bishops, however, had no such difficulty in their way, 
and the Reverend Samuel Seabury, having been re- 
commended by the clergy of Connecticut, was conse- 
crated as bishop by three Scotch bishops in Aberdeen, 
November 14, 1784. 

In OcStober of the following year a convention of 
sixteen clergymen and twenty-six lay deputies met 
in Philadelphia and prepared a Book of Common 
Prayer to be proposed for adoption by the Episcopal 
Church in the United States. Hence this book was 
known as "The Proposed Book/' The book made 
many important changes in the established Book of 
Common Prayer. It omitted the Nicene and Atha- 
nasian Creeds entirely, and also omitted from the 
Apostles' Creed the words " He descended into hell/' 
etc. It contained a special form of prayer and thanks- 
giving to be used on the Fourth of July. This form 
was so framed that it could have been used but by 
few of the clergy without subjecting them to ridicule 
and censure, for most of them had opposed the Decla- 
ration of Independence and adhered to the Crown 
during the Revolution. 

The Proposed Book was not well received, and 
was used in only a few places and for a short time. It 
was never, I think, used in New England. It was 
not even used as the basis of the Book of Common 
Prayer which was subsequently adopted by the 
Church in the United States. It is now very rare and 
only important as an incident in the history of the 
American Church. The Proposed Book was reprinted 

[ *vi ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

in England, and submitted to the English bishops for 
their examination in connection with the proceedings 
then on foot for the consecration of bishops in the 
United States. They disapproved the book because it 
omitted the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, changed 
the Apostles' Creed, and contained a form of service 
to be used on the Fourth of July, and for other 
reasons. 

In the meantime Parliament had passed an Acl 
authorizing the English bishops to consecrate " per- 
sons being subjects or citizens of countries outside 
of his Majesty's dominions bishops" without their 
taking the oath of allegiance, and on Sunday the 
fourth day of February, 1 787, in the chapel of Lam- 
beth Palace, London, the Reverend William White 
was consecrated as Bishop of Pennsylvania, and the 
Reverend Samuel Provoost as Bishop of New York. 
Each of them had been "elected to the office of a 
bishop" by a convention in the state for which he 
was consecrated as bishop, and the certificates of 
their consecration expressly state this fa<5t. The con- 
secration was by the Archbishop of Canterbury and 
the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of Bath and 
Wells and of Peterborough assisting. 

On July 28, 1789, a new convention of the Epis- 
copal Church met at Philadelphia to endeavour to 
prepare a new Prayer-Book. The result of their 
work was a Book which was a revision of the Book 
of Common Prayer of 1662, and was published in 
1790, to be in use from and after Oftober 1st of that 
year. It was printed in Philadelphia by Hall and 
Sellers, and its title was "The Book of Common 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, and 
other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, accord- 
ing to the Use of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
in the United States of America : Together with the 
Psalter or Psalms of David." There was also printed 
and bound up with it the "Tate and Brady" metrical 
version of the Psalms and thirty-seven hymns, which 
were required to be used before and after Morning 
and Evening Prayer, and before and after sermons 
at the discretion of the minister. The whole of this 
metrical version of the Psalms was printed with the 
Book of Common Prayer in its successive revisions 
from 1790 to 1835. From 1835 to 1871 only selec- 
tions were thus printed, and in 1871 the General 
Convention authorized the new Hymnal; and the 
"selections from the Psalms of David" ceased to be 
printed with the Prayer-Book. 

This American Book of Common Prayer had no 
civil sanction like the English Book, but was wholly 
the work of the clergy and the laity in convention. 
It has ever since been and is now subject to altera- 
tion to any extent by the aftion of both the clergy and 
the laity in two successive General Conventions of 
the Church in the United States. During the first cen- 
tury of its existence it has been revised seven times. 
These various revisions are called "Standard Prayer- 
Books." The Book of 1789 is the first Standard. 
The second Standard was made in 1 793 ; the third 
in 1822; the fourth in 1832; the fifth in 1838; the 
sixth in 1845 and the seventh in 1871. The eighth, 
which is the present Standard Book, was authorized 
by the General Convention in O&ober, 1892, after 

[ lviii ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

the report of a committee appointed by it in 1880, 
who worked upon the matter for twelve years. 

No General Convention of the Church meets with- 
out some proposal to revise and improve the Book 
of Common Prayer. It is needless to say that no book 
subject to such perpetual attack and such constant, 
although perhaps in the main unimportant, altera- 
tions is likely to gain such a permanent hold upon the 
Church as a book which is practically unrevisable, 
like the English Book of Common Prayer. It is an 
interesting fact, however, that the various changes 
which have been made in the American Book of 
Common Prayer as first framed have, on the whole, 
caused it to conform more and more to the Prayer- 
Book of Edward VI. For illustration, in the Morning 
Prayer the final verses of the Benedidlus, which were 
left out of the first American Prayer-Book, have 
been restored. In the Evening Prayer the Magnificat 
and the Nunc Dimittis have been restored and the 
full number of versicles placed after the Creed. In 
the Communion Office permission has been given to 
omit the Decalogue except once on Sunday, which 
is an approximation to the First Book of Edward VI, 
which did not have the Decalogue at all. The pro- 
visions which have been adopted for shortening 
Morning and Evening Prayer are also a partial return 
to these services as set forth in the First Prayer- 
Book. 

I feel that I cannot better conclude this brief sketch 
of the history of the Book of Common Prayer than 
by quoting the words of Stanley, Dean of West- 
minster: "The Prayer-book as it stands is a long 

[ lix ] 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

gallery of Ecclesiastical History, which, to be under- 
stood and enjoyed thoroughly, absolutely compels 
a knowledge of the greatest events and names of 
all periods of the Christian Church. To Ambrose we 
owe the present form of our Te Deum; Charlemagne 
breaks the silence of our Ordination prayers by the 
Veni Creator Spiritus. The Persecutions have given 
us one creed, and the Empire another. The name 
of the first great Patriarch of the Byzantine Church 
closes our daily service; the Litany is the bequest of 
the first great Patriarch of the Latin Church, amidst 
the terrors of the Roman pestilence. Our collects 
are the joint productions of the Fathers, the Popes, 
and the Reformers. Our Communion Service bears 
the traces of every fluctuation of the Reformation, 
through the two extremes of the reign of Edward 
to the conciliating policy of Elizabeth, and the re- 
actionary zeal of the Restoration. The more com- 
prehensive, the more free, the more impartial, is our 
study of any or every branch of Ecclesiastical His- 
tory, the more will it be in accordance with the spirit 
and with the letter of the Church of England." 



[lx ] 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 

1085 The Missal of the Use of Sarum 
1534 A& of Supremacy of Henry VIII 
1536 The Ten Articles of our Faith 

1539 The Six Articles 

1540 The "Great Bible" set up in churches as the 
"authorized version" 

1543 Committee of Convocation commissioned to 
revise service-books 

1543 " A Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any 
Christian Man," published 

1544 First English Litany prepared by Cranmer and 
ordered for use in churches 

1545 Primer of Henry the Eighth 

1547, Jan. 31. Accession of King Edward VI 

1548, March 8. English Order of the Communion 
added to the Latin Mass 

1549, Jan. 21. The Book of Common Prayer: First 
Book of Edward VI adopted . 

1550 The English Ordinal prepared and published 
1552, April 75. The Book of Common Prayer: Se- 
cond Book of Edward VI receives royal assent 
1552 The Forty-Two Articles of Edward VI 

1558, Nov. 17. Accession of Queen Elizabeth 

1558 Act of Supremacy of Queen Elizabeth 

1559 The Eleven Articles 

1559, April 28. Elizabethan Book of Common Prayer 
receives royal assent 

1562 The Thirty-Nine Articles 

1603, May 7. Accession of James I 

1604 The Hampton Court Conference 

1637 The Scottish Service-book 

1644 The Directory for the public worship of God 

replaces the Book of Common Prayer 
1660 The use of the Book of Common Prayer revived 

[ lxiii ] 



Page 
X 

vi 
xiii 
xiii 

vi 

vii 

xiii 

vii 
vii, xi, xii 

XV 

vii, viii, xv 

iii, xv, xvi 
xviii 

xv-xvii 
xiii, xiv 

XX 
XX 

xiv 

xx, xxi 

xiv 
xxvi 
xxvi 
xviii 

xxviii 
xxxi 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 

1662, May ip. A& of Uniformity for the present 

English Book of Common Prayer xxxii, xxxiii 

1666 The Irish Acl: of Uniformity xxxiv 

1786 The "Proposed Book" of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church in the United States of America Ivi 

1789 The first of the eight Standard Editions of the 
Book of Common Prayer according to the Use 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the 
United States of America lvii, lviii 



[ lxiv ] 



INDEX 



INDEX 



"Advertisements" of Queen 
Elizabeth, xxii, xxiii, xxxvi. 

Ambrosian liturgy, see Milan, 
Liturgy of. 

American Book of Common 
Prayer, lvii-lix. 

Anglo-Saxon liturgy, x. 

Articles of faith, xii-xiv. 

Bishops' Bible, xli ; bishops' 
book, xiii. 

" Black-Rubric," so-called, xviii. 

"Book annexed," meaning of 
the, 1, li. 

Book of Common Prayer: Ad- 
aptation of early rites, cere- 
monies and forms of devotion, 
v, xii; general characteriza- 
tion of, iii-v, xli. — English : 
First book established as a 
complete liturgy by the a& of 
the state, iii, xv ; objected to 
by many, xvi ; revised book 
of 1552, xvii ; its use pro- 
scribed by Queen Mary's 
A£te, xix, xx ; Elizabethan 
revision, xx-xxii; Hampton 
Court Conference andresults, 
xxvi, xxvii; proscribed by Par- 
liament in 1644, xxviii, xxix; 
revision of 1661-62, xxxi- 
xxxiii, li ; sources of the Book 
of Common Prayer, xli; lan- 
guage and style, xiii; selling 
price of first and second 
Prayer-Book of Edward, 1 ; at- 
tempted revisions after 1662, 
li-liii ; the Prayer-Book in the 
American colonies, liii-lv ; for 
use in Scotland, xxviii, xxxv; 



for use in Ireland, xxxiii, 
xxxiv. — According to the 
Use of the Church of Ireland, 
xxxiv, xxxv. — According to 
the Use of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church in the 
United States of America, 
lviii, lix. 
Book of Hours, see Primer. 

(keltic liturgy, ix. 

Charles I., xxvii. 

Charles II., xxxi. 

Clementine liturgy, see James, 
St., Liturgy of. 

Commissaries in the American 
colonies, liii. 

Convocation, meaning of the 
term, viii, note. 

Coverdale's translation of the 
Bible, xli; retained in the 
Psalter of the present Prayer- 
Book, xlii, xlv-xlviii. 

Cranmer, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury and his work on the 
English liturgy, vii, xiii, xv, 
xli. 

.Directory for the publique 
Worship of God, xxviii-xxx. 

Edward VI., xv-xix. 

Eleven Articles, the, of 1559, 

xiv. 
Elizabeth, Queen, xx-xxxvi; 

excommunicated, xxii-xxv. 
Ephesine liturgy, see John, St., 

Liturgy of. 

r orms of Common Prayer, 
general and local, xxxvi-xl; 



[ lxvii ] 



INDEX 



character of their language 
and style, xlii. 
Forty-Two Articles,the,xiii, xiv. 

Cjallican liturgy, ix. 
"Great Bible," the, xli; set up 

in churches as the authorized 

version, vi, xiv. 

Hampton Court Conference, 

xxvi. 
Henry VIII, attitude toward 

reformation of church and 

liturgy, xiv, xv; primer of, vii, 

xi, xii. 

Injunctions of Queen Eliza- 
beth, xxii, xxiii, xliii, xliv. 

"Institution of a Christian 
Man," of 1537, xiii. 

Ireland and the Prayer-Book, 
xxxiii, xxxiv. 

James, St., Liturgy of, viii, fx. 
James I, xxvi-xxviii. 
John, St., Liturgy of, ix. 

K.ING Henry's primer, see Pri- 
mer. 

King James' Bible,xxvii, xxviii; 
used in the revision of 1661- 
62, xlii, xlvii. 

King's book, the, see "Neces- 
sary Doctrine, A, and Erudi- 
tion for any Christian Man." 

King's primer, see Primer. 

Latin the language of pre- 
reformation service-books, x, 
xi, xlviii; character of lan- 
guage, xli. 

Laud's Book, see Prayer-Book 
for the Use in Scotland. 

Lay Folks Prayer-Book, see 
Primer. 



Litany in English, prepared by 
Cranmer, vii, xiv. 

JMark, St., Liturgy of, viii. 

Mary, Queen, proscribes Book 
of Common Prayer and re- 
stores supremacy of Rome 
and the Roman mass, xix, xx. 

Merbecke's " Book of Common 
Prayer" noted, xlvi. 

Metrical versions of the Psalms, 
xliv, lviii. 

Milan, Liturgy of, ix. 

Missal, xlix; according to the 
Use of Sarum, x. 

Mozarabic liturgy, ix. 

Music authorized and encour- 
aged by the directions of the 
Prayer-Book, xlii, xliii. 

"Necessary Doctrine, A, and 
Erudition for any Christian 
Man," 1543, xiii. 

Occasional forms of prayer, 
see Forms of Common Prayer. 

"Order of the Communion, 
The," vii, viii, xv. 

Ordinal, of 1550, added to re- 
vised book of 1552, xviii; of 
1559, xiv. 

Ornaments rubric the only im- 
portant alteration in the Eliza- 
bethan Book of Common 
Prayer, xxi, xxii. 

iapal bulls excommunicating 
Queen Elizabeth, xxiii-xxv. 

Parliament and the Book of 
Common Prayer, iii, xxxv, 
xxxvi, lii, liii; and the Direc- 
tory for the public worship 
of God, xxviii, xxix. 

Peter, St., Liturgy of, viii, ix. 



[ lxviii ] 



INDEX 



Prayer-Book for the Use in Scot- 
land, 1637, xxviii-xxxv, xlvi. 

Pre-re formation church in Eng- 
land, vi. 

Pre-reformation service-books, 
Committee of Convocation 
appointed for revision of, 
vii; numerous and expensive, 
xlviii-1; without binding force 
in the law of the state, iii. 

Primer, the, xi; King Henry's, 
vii, xi, xii. 

Primitive forms of worship, viii, 
xii. 

"Proposed Book" of 1785-86, 
Ivi. 

Psalter of the Prayer-Book, xlii, 
xlv-xlviii. 

JKoman liturgy, see Peter, St., 
Liturgy of. 

Royal prerogative in ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs, xxii, xxxvi, xxxvii. 

Rubrics of service-books, xlviii. 

Salisbury (Sarum) liturgy, x; 

primer, xi. 
Savoy Conference, xxxi. 
Scottish Service-Book, 1637, 

xxviii-xxxv, xlvi. 
"Seabury Communion Office," 

liv. 
Six Articles, the, of 1539, xiii. 



Spanish Armada and its fate, 
xxiv-xxvi. 

Standard editions of the Ame- 
rican Book of Common 
Prayer, lviii. 

State services of the Prayer- 
Book of 1662, xl. 

Sternholde and Hopkins Psalms, 
xliv. 

Supremacy Acl: of 1 5 34, vi, xxii ; 
of 1558, xx, xxii. 

Supremacy of Rome, restored 
by Queen Mary, xix, xx; ef- 
fectively destroyed in 1559, 
xxiii. 

1 ate and Brady's Psalms, xliv, 

lviii. 
Ten Articles, the, of 1536, xii, 

xiii. 
Thirty-Nine Articles, the, xiv, 

xxxvi. 
Translations of the Book of 

Common Prayer, xxxiii, 

xxxiv, lvi. 

Uniformity, Ads of, iv, xvi, 
xvii, xx, xxxii, xxxiv; pro- 
tect the Book of Common 
Prayer against useless revi- 
sion, xlii. 

United Church of England and 
Ireland, xxxiv. 



ii icin 



LE Ja II 



THE 

BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER 

ITS ORIGIN AND GROWTH 

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J. H. BENTON, LL.D. 

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